Kirk's Masters World Championship Race

I finally get to write the final race report of the cyclocross season: Kirk's championship race. And what a race it was!

It's his lucky number!

The morning of the Men's 50-54 World Championship race finally dawned sunny, clear, and calm. It was cold, but not brutally cold. By the time we cleared out of the hotel room and got to the race site, it was in the low 20s. The parking area where I'd helped push cars out of the mud was now covered with bark mulch and frozen hard, and the entry to the parking field had been diverted to a new area.  We could see additional modifications that had been made to the course. In some sections the stakes had been pulled up and moved over the course width, running alongside the original line but now on dead weeds instead of the deep frozen muddy ruts of the original course.

An entire section in the back of the course, which wove its way through trees up and down a steep hillside, had been removed since the seeding heat.

Once parked, Kirk jumped on the back of the truck to pull his race bike and pit bike down only to discover that the locks linking all the bikes together were frozen. Using a "U" lock as a hammer (sorry about that Jerry), Kirk got the padlocks off, bikes down, the trainer set up and the derailleur on the Colnago adjusted. The bikes didn't like being in the cold, the brake cables moved very sluggishly and the gears wouldn't shift, so I set them leaning against the truck to sun bathe. After being in the rain Thursday and then freezing Thursday afternoon and Friday they definitely worked better after warming up.

Lesson - sleep with your race bike the night before an event.  Especially a World Championship.  Duh!

While Kirk warmed up, I watched a women's championship race that was underway. It was the second race of the morning. Several times I saw racers inadvertently ride off the race course, through the course tape, jumping off, and running their bikes back onto the course to resume racing. That told me that the ruts were still frozen, and if caught off guard the racers couldn't get out if the rut misdirected them. Plus the women's lower body weights were a disadvantage in terms of riding the ruts -- they were much less able to force their way across through weight and power than men would be.

Warming up on the trainer

Before long Kirk went to ride over to the start line, and I walked the Colnago over to the pit area. My concern today was not a pit swap due to mud/no shifting, but a mechanical. Riding ruts like these could cause derailleurs hangers to break, tires to flat, etc. I don't have the skill set to take care of a pit mechanical, but wanted to cover my bases. As such, I went to the neutral SRAM support tent and confirmed that I could get help should we have a problem. The guy I talked to indicated that he still anticipated mud being a problem, so I high tailed it back to the truck, got our bucket and brushes, went to the water truck for a dose of water, and got back to the pit area before Kirk's race began. Better safe than sorry.   Between races a green backhoe showed up next to the pit, and a guy with a shovel scooped dirt out of the backhoe bucket and into ruts in the course by the back side of the pit. Still trying to make it safer for the racers.  I didn't see many crashes in the women's race prior to Kirk's, but that was all about to change.

You can barely see it, but behind the guy in yellow is the backhoe, and the guy in the light brown jacket is shoveling dirt onto the course

Next I know, Kirk's race is underway. Steve Tilford, the guy who won this age group at Nationals (and a former pro racer) came by riding fast, looking on the edge of control as he plowed across and through the ruts. And even walking in the pit, it was becoming clear that the sun was superficially melting the muddy surface while the ground underneath stayed frozen -- making it very, very slippery on the top of the ruts. Even in my Uggs it was slick. And the racers learned that quickly, too -- I've never seen so many crashes in one race. First lap down that manmade ramp one guy didn't make the right hand turn at the bottom, crashing on the edge of the course, and the guy right behind followed him exactly, crashing as well. From there the racers took a mild left turn past the pit, and the line they all rode was directly up against the right fence. They were so close that handlebars would catch in the fence. If they didn't hold their line, they were tossed back into the middle of the course which took some down. It was crazy.    Immediately racers were pitting with flat tires. Kirk went by, riding strong and holding his own. With each racer wearing their seeding number it was easy to tell who had started where; Kirk had quickly passed quite a number of riders. I even saw some numbers in the 20s that were well behind him. I kept track of him from as far out from the pit as I could see, changing sides and ready for him should he need to come in. Lap 1 ended without a pit stop; lap two started. Riders continued to go down as the surface mud continued to melt. The riders in the second and third places were duking it out, one having to pit, but still eventually catching the other guy, passing him, and holding the advantage. Kirk rode by the pit on lap 2, both sides, and the Lapierre seemed to be riding well.   On his first pass by the pit on lap 3 he indicated that he'd be pitting on the second pass because the bike wasn't shifting. Then he rode out of my sight. . .and promptly rolled his tubular tire when he hit a rut, maneuvered the front of the bike out, but the back tire stayed in it, pulling it completely off the rim and wedging it in the chainstays. By now I knew what racers preceded him on the course (although he continued to pass racers as they ran out of steam), and as I saw them approach the second pit pass, still no Kirk, I knew he had gone down or something.  And lo! there he comes running, Lapierre on his shoulder, spectators cheering him on. Nothing says cyclocross more than a racer running his bike to the pit, and spectators are very appreciative and supportive of that racer.    Having staged myself midway down the pit, I grabbed the Colnago and moved to the very entry of the pit to speed his transition onto the new bike. We had a smooth hand off, and I grabbed the bike to take it to neutral support. They guy told me if I could get it cleaned off he'd put on a loaner wheel. Then I discovered they'd taken the pressure hoses out of the pit, and moved them to the other side of the course. I was going to have to cross the course, wait in line for a hose, get back across, and then turn the bike over to the mechanic. I decided instead to clean with my handy dandy bucket and brushes, and was heading that direction when I nearly ran into Kirk in the pit. Kirk said that the UCI official put his hand up, blew his whistle and directed him to stop at the exit of the pit.  Once Kirk stood down, the official put his hand on Kirk's shoulder and said, "that was very brave, but you've been lapped by the leader".  The other official present complimented the bike change by way of sympathy.  While changing bikes, Kirk had been passed by Tilford, the race leader, and therefore was not allowed to continue. Darn. If he hadn't rolled the tire, he wouldn't have been passed. But what a race, what a run! He figured he'd probably passed 20 or so racers, moving up from his 54th place at the start to the high 20's/low 30s, and was continuing to pass riders as they wore out from the seat of your pants riding that was required in the conditions. Even with running about a mile of the course he still placed 44th in the final results.

It was a great race. He had so much fun, was so in his element, and raced so well. The more technical nature of the course for the Championship race suited him so much better than the mud slog of the qualifying/seeding race. It was great to have him end the season on such a high note, with such a fun race. Between the two, it certainly was epic cyclocross. Next year will be even bigger and wilder, as both the Elite and the Masters World Championships will be in Louisville. It was a nice city to host the event in; we enjoyed it. Need a post-holiday holiday? I recommend Louisville next January. Really. It's going to be a heck of an event. We'll be there!     Sincerely, Kirk, Chandler, and Jonathon Rhinehart Spindoc

Hello, Cycle Family and Friends:

It's been a wild beginning of the year. After Nationals, I flew home for a few days with the kids and some SpinDoc hours. In the four days home I taught four classes, worked two days (more or less) at the shop, did a walk/run with Lauren, took a stretch/tone class, took down and packed away all the holiday decorations at the house, and actually had some hanging out time with the younger two.  Friends and customers Beth and Knute Kovach were kind enough to drive me to the airport Wednesday morning, which started in style with Beth's birthday and a split of champagne (not for Knute, the designated driver). At the airport I followed a tip I got from them about Black Mesa's green chili quiche. It was very, very good. I recommend it. 

I got in to Louisville Wed. night; it was a balmy 45 degrees. .  . and raining. It had started raining some time Tuesday night, and the rains had intermittently been torrential. Kirk had ridden a lap of the course that afternoon, then rode the bike to the drive thru car wash (a heated water car wash, no less!). It was an absolute mud fest. Different mud than New Mexico -- very slick, soupy, watered down -- Kirk says when you rode through you could turn around and watch your tracks fill back in, like thick pancake batter. 

On Thursday, Kirk's qualifying race was at 10:10; he was in the second heat of 40 racers in the 50-54 age category. Their seeding for the day was done on a lottery, literally reaching into a paper bag and pulling a number. Kirk scored 354, which placed him in the third position in the front row of his heat. Steve Tilford, the Nationals winner, was in the row behind him. Jerry's advise was "when you passes, just jump on his wheel and hold on!"  It was 45 degrees when we arrived and parked. We got Kirk set up on the trainer, and I pulled on my wellies and got ready to do pit duties. It was interesting to have new responsibilities; usually I've been able to suss out the course, figure out vantage points, etc. 

This time, being in the pit, I first had to figure out how to get there, then I had to make inquiries of how the course ran so I knew which side of the pit Kirk would pass first. Folks riding cyclocross tend to be very friendly and willing to share info, unlike road racers who seem to seek advantage in not sharing information. The guy next to me who laid out the course for me has been riding cross for a while, was racing later himself, and joked about training rides he's done with Tilford and the Nationals silver medalist, Kevin. He was nice, and quite helpful. The first heat was already racing, so I had some time to watch the race, suss stuff out, and walk to the end of the pit area where neutral tech support was available in a pop up, two guys industriously working on bikes inside, and beyond that where several high pressure washer hoses were set up.

Looking back at the pit from the wash area; the SRAM vehicle and red tent are neutral tech support; beyond that, the red fenced area is the pit.

High pressure washers set up for pit use only. The one I used, unfortunately, had little pressure.

I walked back to where I'd left Kirk's "pit bike," which is Tove's much loved Colnago. Once back, I intently watched riders coming in and how the transitions where handled. One guy would hand off the bike and try to give his racer --or his bike, I couldn't tell which -- a push, which was a disaster. The rider would try to jump on his bike, and miss, and end up on the back wheel. He would yell at his pit guy, "Don't do that!" Then the guy did it again! Hmm. I also watched as the race rep who was in charge of the pit measured tire width with this little gadget, whistled as racers entered the pit, and racers violated one rule or another. After the first heat ended, some racer was in the pit which a cut on his shin, heading into hypothermia, very disoriented, as people tried to get him to strip his wet clothes, find his bike, but most importantly lead him to the medical tent. He was in no life threatening danger, so mostly it was interesting (not nerve-wracking) to watch.

Next I know, the whistle goes off for Kirk's heat. From the pit, I could see only marginal sections of the course, and quickly figured out where to watch before a pit entrance so I knew if he might come in. He'd planned to change between laps two and three figuring that mud would have heaped up on the bike. Nonetheless, I was ready with the bike each time he came through just in case something changed. It was slow going. . . it looked like the guys were riding in slo mo, yet you knew they were riding as hard as they could. After they left payment, they hit mud which basically never relented. There was a man-made ramp (unlike Bend last year, this one was stairs up and a ride down), after which they circled around and made their first pass past the pit; from there they circled around again, left pit view, jumped a few barriers I never saw, and eventually made the second pass by the pit. From there, they headed toward the start finish which included serpentines up and down a hill side, which two days ago had been fully ridable. Now, everyone had to run the entire section, which consisted of three slippery off camber run ups into switchbacks taking them back down. Kirk said the mud was soft enough that instead of being slippery, he could dig his heels in to make his way down. But it was a lot of running. 

Sure enough, as planned, at the second pit pass at the second lap Kirk came in; I was ready for him, making sure the right pedal was in the power position, holding the saddle with the right hand, ready to catch his cast off bike with my left. . .the only thing I hadn't remember to check was the gearing. I learned later that it was geared a little high and was hard to for him to get going. I hadn't even thought off that! Darn. I won't forget again. Regardless, though, I got kudos from some guy for a neat pit exchange, which was nice for my first attempt. Once off, I quickly took the Lapierre to the pressure sprayer to get it cleaned off for another trade off if needed. I was a little nervous as each of the two sprayers had several folks in line, and I knew I had only about a third of a lap before he'd make the first pit pass on the third lap. I got the bike as clean as I could with the lack of pressure, concentrating on the drive train, pedals and brakes. Once back in the pit, and sure that Kirk hadn't passed again, I borrowed a brush and water bucket to do a little more cleaning, taking my gloves off to pull long strings of grass from the cassette, chain rings and derailleur. It was cold, but I was pretty warm other than my toes. It started to rain lightly about half way through the race, and continued until the end. The temp was dropping . . .by the time the race ended the temp had already dropped to 39. 

Kirk passed the pit the last time, so I wheeled the bike out, watched the ascent and descents along the hill line, then headed for the truck. 

Couldn't get it to focus in the distance, but you can see the standing water. . .and beyond this was the serpentine section up and down the hills, off camber.

Kirk had a great ride, although very taxing. I ended up trying to help push some cars out of the mud, then taking the Lapierre for a more complete wash while I waited for Kirk. Turns out he was at the top of the park in line with co-racers, as they hosed their bikes, then each other, after the race conclusion. The laps were taking so much longer than planned, the race planners opted to cut qualifying/seeding races to two laps instead of the three the 50-54 rode. . .at about 15 minutes per lap. 

Changed, dry and warm, we took off to get some brunch, watching the temp drop and the snow start. By nighttime it was 22 and had snowed all day with minimal accumulation. 

Initially Kirk thought he had not qualified for the championship race, having missed it by 7 places. Turns out that wasn't the case -- he's in and races on Saturday. His race seeded him to start in position 54 -- quite a coincidental position since his seeding race number was 354.  With an overnight low of about 17 on Thursday night, we knew the course would changed dramatically. We drove by today; the mud ruts were all frozen. The course director/planner was there, and we watched as a small backhoe dropped frozen dirt into a pick up to distribute onto the course to make it safer. They also have shortened the course since each lap took so long. Pretty crazy stuff. 

Wow. Kirk is riding in Cyclocross Worlds. With folks from Japan, and Poland, and England, and Canada. And all over the world. That's pretty cool.

Today I tried to get him fed, keep him off his feet, and have an nice low key day. Tomorrow the weather will be much like today, with a frozen rutted course. . .but we stopped to get a bucket and additional washing brushes for me to have in the pit anyhow. We've both got multiple layers of clothing out to wear, his new championship race numbers are pinned to his jersey, and we're ready for his final race of the season. Cold or warm, wet or dry, the race goes on. Such is cyclocross! 

Take Ohio River bottomland, add an inch of rain, mix vigorously with bike wheels, repeat.

They're here!

Tove Shere talks about winning the women's 60 64 national title

The pride of New Mexico describing her race at Nationals.

Here's a link to a short video of Kirk climbing "the big hill" at Nationals. Enjoy!